Boxing’s “Triangle” Between Golovkin, Kovalev and Ward

Golovkin

By Ken Hissner

There are not enough “super star” boxers in the game today. Now we have one of them in WBA super middleweight champion Andre “S.O.G.” Ward, 28-0, who stepped away from boxing for 19 months due to “promoter problems” coming back and “kinda” calling out people like Gennady “GGG” Golovkin, 33-0, WBA middleweight and WBC interim champion and probably the second best P4P boxer in the world today. He is on a 20 fight knockout streak.

In the meantime Kathy Duva CEO of Main Events doesn’t seem to be able to convince WBC light heavyweight champion Adonis Stevenson to fight Russian Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev, 28-0-1, holder of the other three belts in the ring. So she turns to Ward and proposes a fight between him and Kovalev. After all Ward was a Gold Medal winner at 178 pounds though holding a 168 title as a professional. Ward hasn’t taken the “bait” on that one.

Golovkin’s manager Thomas Loeffler would like nothing better than have his man fight WBC and WBA super welterweight champion Floyd “Money” Mayweather. The best P4P boxer in the world wants no part of that deal and is staying at 147 and defending his WBA title against former champion and No. 1 contender Andre Berto in September. Golovkin finally got another one of the champions in his division who has enough guts to fight him in new IBF champion David Lemieux of Canada which will happen in October.

So, instead of Ward defending his WBA title which he hasn’t since November of 2013, he is in a “triangle” with two other of boxing’s top boxers who already have bouts scheduled. Russia’s Fedor Chudinov, 13-0, is the interim WBA champion and Carl Froch the No. 2 contender with No. 1 vacant.

Chudinov is defending against No. 13 Frank Buglioni. How these so-called champions get away without fighting someone at least in the top ten is beyond me. The inexperienced Chudinov obviously isn’t getting in the ring with Ward and Froch whom Ward easily defeated has either announced his retirement or is contemplating it.

Mexico’s Gilberto Ramirez, 32-0, is No. 3 and probably should be Ward’s next opponent in a title defense or Ward should be stripped of his title but that organization still hasn’t stripped Danny “Swift” Garcia of his title like the WBC has done even though Garcia just stepped up to the welterweight division officially after not defending his title in over a year. He seemed to be more interested in non-title bouts anyway.

Summing things up Golovkin should win the IBF title and then meet the winner between the WBC champion Miguel Cotto who is defending against Saul Alvarez next month with Golovkin being the interim champion. Ward should fight Ramirez and Kovalev is tentatively scheduled to meet Artur Beterbiev his No. 2 IBF, No. 4 WBA and No. 3 WBO challenger in December but it’s not yet official.